The Biggest Challenges of Writing a Persuasive Paper

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A persuasive essay assignment may give you the chance to express your views on a particular issue, but there's more to it than just your own opinion. Not only do you have to clearly explain your position with evidence and examples, but you must write with sensitivity toward readers with opposing beliefs. While writing a persuasive paper includes many challenges related to research and craft, knowing these obstacles can help you avoid the pitfalls of composing the type of essay.

Overcoming Topic Block

Coming up with an issue to write about often is a huge obstacle when starting the assignment. You might be trying to choose between two or three potential ideas, or you may be totally stuck about what topic to address. Brainstorm a list of issues that affect your daily life. For instance, you may live in a congested city with unreliable public transportation, or attend a school that is cutting funding for the arts. Once you have a list of ideas, talk with those around you to select the most significant, interesting idea.

Taking a Clear Position

In persuasive thesis statements, there often is a struggle with stating specific views and why they are significant. According to Cambridge University Press textbook "Writers at Work," a good argumentative thesis should include the author's position, a course of action to take, and the reason that action is required. For example, "There are too many stray animals" could be rewritten as "Building protective shelters can help decrease the stray animal population by giving people a place to take abandoned pets." Write a draft of your thesis and get feedback from your instructor on how to make it more specific.

Beating Biased Sources

The Internet may be rich with information on your topic, but that doesn't mean all of it is useable. A major challenge with persuasive-paper research is determining whether a source is biased, or presenting a one-sided view of an issue rather than exploring multiple viewpoints. For example, the PETA website might have some good statistics about animal abuse but because it's an organization that strictly promotes one position, it might not be the best source to use. Consider using articles from academic journals, which have been thoroughly researched and provide works-cited pages showing where research came from.

Honoring Other Viewpoints

When you're writing a persuasive essay, it can be easy to get tunnel vision and focus solely on your point of view rather than acknowledge other positions. Many students ignore opposing viewpoints or exclude evidence that doesn't align with their theses. Doing this, according to the Purdue Online Writing Lab, is "unethical" and can make your argument less effective and credible. Researching the opposite side of the issue can help you brainstorm ways to combat its most common arguments. Conceding a point or two that you're unable to refute may help you build goodwill with readers who disagree with your views.

About the Author

Kori Morgan holds a Bachelor of Arts in professional writing and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and has been crafting online and print educational materials since 2006. She taught creative writing and composition at West Virginia University and the University of Akron and her fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals.